Orthopaedic surgeons develop openings or cavities in long bones for a variety of reasons including fracture fixation and the implantation of stem based prostheses. The bone receiving the stem is typically prepared by drilling a hole in the bone and creating an opening sized and contoured to receive the stem of the implant therein. Typically, surgeons must ream or drill the cavity into the bone to a suitable predetermined depth. Accordingly, surgeons have employed a variety of methods for indicating a predetermined reaming depth of a long bone orthopaedic drilling device, such as a reamer.
One such method includes marking the desired depth on the reamer with a pen so that the surgeon will know that the proper depth has been reached when the marking reaches the leading edge of the bone being reamed. Another method includes the use of reamers having specific depth markings or grooves thereon to provide a visual indicator to the surgeon of the depth of the reamer as the cavity is being drilled. Other methods include the use of a collar and/or a movable sleeve on the reamer which operate to prevent the drilling device from reaming beyond the predetermined reaming depth. For example, the collar may be adjustable along the length of the drilling device in order to vary the predetermined reaming depth. Similarly, a plurality of sleeves may be provided in order to vary the predetermined reaming depth. See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,162,226.